A Roadmap Manifesto | Warmachine
It’s been a minute since we did one of these.
Before we get into it, I’ll take a moment to reintroduce myself. I’m Mat Hart, founder and CCO of Steamforged. Today we’ll be unveiling the long-awaited roadmap and discussing some changes to the different formats for playing Warmachine.
If you’ve got any questions about today’s Manifesto or if you just want to hang out with me, I’ll be back on the Warmachine subreddit at 7pm BST today (so not long after this goes out).
The Roadmap
Last week we sent out an update on the current status of production. If you missed it you can read it here.
Today we’re sharing the revised roadmap of new releases from the Cryx Necrofactorium Auxiliary Expansion (which goes up for pre order tomorrow) and going forward into next year.
October:
- Cryx Necrofactorium Auxiliary Expansion
November:
- Khador Annihilators Avalanche Warjack
- Cygnar Storm Forge Borealis Warjack
- Warmachine 2 Player Starter Set
December:
- Cryx Necrofactorium Necroharvester
January:
- Cygnar Storm Legion Maelstrom Colossal
February:
- <Redacted> Apotheosis Warlock
March:
- <Redacted> <Yeah... we can't talk about this one yet!>
- <Redacted> Gargantuan
- Cygnar Gravediggers Battlegroup Box
- Cygnar Gravediggers Command Starter
April:
- Cygnar Gravediggers Core Expansion
- <Redacted> Apotheosis Warcaster
- <Redacted> <Yeah... this one too...>
June:
- Old Umbrey releases begin this month
The roadmap covers most key releases up until April 2025 – although as you can see there are clearly some surprises waiting…and a few things that may not be on that roadmap yet that will be revealed in due course…
An Update To Game Formats
Beyond the roadmap, we’re also planning some structural changes that you’ll see in the app very soon. One of the subtle yet important aspects of building Warmachine for the future is lowering barriers to entry and making the game feel as intuitive as possible for both new and existing players.
A common question we encounter is about the different formats—what they are, and where players should go to build army lists.
Right now, this journey isn't particularly obvious, and is a little convoluted with the Prime, Legacy, and Unlimited options to choose from. So, we’ve decided to tidy things up and use this as an opportunity to build a solid foundation for future growth.
Prime
First things first, the format we develop and balance new armies and scenarios for is Prime.
This is the environment where we have the greatest control over the play experience and can tune it to how we believe Warmachine games should feel and play.
Currently, within Prime, there are two choices: “MKIV” and “Legacy” army lists.
MKIV armies are the newer options. The ones most in line with world events and the creative direction of the game. These will be the easiest models to get your hands on, whether in your FLGS or online, as they’re in production right now.
Armies of Legend
Legacy armies, on the other hand, are effectively out-of-production armies that have been balanced and tweaked to be playable in the Prime format.
We’re not currently producing these armies, so adding them to your collection can be a challenge and will almost certainly involve the secondary market, which can be frustrating and expensive.
So the first change we’re making is renaming the current Legacy armies to Armies of Legend.
They’ll still be valid for the Prime format, but we’ll be tucking them away in their own folder on the Warmachine app to help minimise confusion and frustration, especially for new players.
MKIV armies will then simply be referred to as Prime Armies, which is a lot simpler.
Legacy
Now, the last change in how we present the formats might be a little unintuitive, but hear me out. The Unlimited format is going to be renamed Legacy.
Yeah, I know it’s a bit weird that what was Legacy is now Armies of Legend and what was Unlimited is now Legacy, but when we look at other games in the market and how they've handled similar situations, they often use the term "Legacy" (such as Magic: The Gathering) to describe things that are still valid to play, just not in the current main format.
This change brings consistency to our naming in line with other big games out there, making things clearer for new players.
Lock & Load
While I’m on the topic of Legacy (the format formerly known as Unlimited), I do want to touch on our support for this format. Obviously, it’s not our main focus, but there’s a lot of fondness for the characters and their stories within this format… plus, some of the combos you can pull off are spectacular!
Our plan is to bring back Lock & Load events, starting in the USA next year and expanding to the UK/Europe the following year. At Lock & Load, we’ll be officially supporting and running events for the Legacy format.
And maybe, in the lead-up, we’ll release some new scenarios or content. So, there’s still life in my old Gaspy2 list yet!
